The stigma and discrimination against the mentally ill in a group home - Research Paper Example

? Running head: The stigma and discrimination against the mentally ill in a group home. Outline Introduction Stigma Stereotypes of the mentally ill. How stigma develops Labeling and stigma Introduction Being mentally challenged can really alienate one from the rest of the society. This is because many people regard those who are suffering from the condition as less human. Therefore, even the mildest case of mental illness could graduate and become fatal due to the stigma exerted by the public. One way in which these cases can be prevented from going into extreme levels is by building group homes for the mentally challenged. The group homes do not solve the problem completely, but they minimize it in a way. Stigma The term stigma was originally being used to refer to a mark or a brand on Greek slaves, that made them set apart from the rest of humanity. The word was also used to refer on the marks on the hands and feet of Christians but in this case, it was called stigmata. In day to day usage, it refers to a sign of disgrace and defect. In his 1963 book, Goffman defines stigma as trait which is deeply discrediting. He viewed stigmatization as a socialization process, but there are those who argue that stigmatization is to be blamed on the person carrying it. Scholars have continued to offer different definitions for stigma throughout the course of time. Some have termed it as the reaction of other people including action and behavior of both the victim and the perpetrator. Stigma can be classified into two: felt or enacted. Felt stigma refers to the kind of shame and expectation of discrimination that prevents people from talking about their experiences and seeking for help (Goffman, 1963). Proper communication and research has been done to define the stigma and discrimination of the mentally ill. These are people with mental disabilities and are not regarded as normal people in the society. They are dependent and cannot do many things by themselves. It is indeed very possible for people to hide their disorders once a person has recovered. Therefore, as long as no one discovers, people can just pass as normal. According to Goffman, this is state is referred to as discreditable whereas people with conditions that cannot be hidden are discredited. The individuals with a discreditable condition such as the bipolar disorder in remission must be very careful about how they disclose information about themselves. Bipolar disorder is a condition in which people go back and forth between periods of a very good or irritable mood and depression. You find that at one point, a person is in very high spirits, feeling as if they are on top of the world. This however does not last for long because a person changes all over a sudden and they get in very low moods and become withdrawn. Its causes have never really been established. Caution should really be taken in choosing who should know which information and how much. This kind of proper information management can cut down social rejection and enacted stigma to considerably very low levels (Scambler, 1998). The other group of people is for those who live with discrediting conditions such as schizophrenia might find themselves having difficulties with information management and have a very high risk of succumbing to enacted stigma. Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that makes it difficult to tell the difference between the real and the unreal experiences, think logically and behave normally in social situations. Stereotypes of the mentally ill. A lot of people have negative stereotypes of those people with mental illness. Despite the fact that stereotypes are not really a bad thing in themselves, because they are used for restructuring knowledge in society, they become harmful once they are used in a rigid and a discriminatory way. The stereotypes that are held against the mentally ill perceive them as having so many negative traits that nothing good can come from them. Some of the perceptions held are that the people are dirty, unintelligent, insincere and worthless. Those with less education top in the list of having negative attitudes against the mentally ill. It has also been observed that males seem to have these stereotypes probably because they are less caring. How stigma develops There are some players who have believed that there is no discrimination about the mentally ill at all. The proponents of this view include Crocetti, Spiro and Siass (Crocetti, 1974). Their argument is that perceived discrimination against ex-patients is not real and it is just a sign of continuing misrepresentations due to psychopathology. However, this view has slowly faded due to the rise of the service user movement in the 1960s. This new theory was of the view that this label ‘schizophrenic’ was behind the formation of many stereotypes against mental illness. These learned stereotypes were learned through the social media which is a very effective mode of spreading any of communication. Schizophrenia condition label affects the way we interact with the patients and how the patients themselves feel and act about themselves. An old primary school teacher in one village in Kenya had been labeled as having schizophrenia because he suffered from mental illness time after time. One thing about him was that he was one of the most effective of all the teachers. However, this condition made him seem unreliable and with little that could be gotten from him. On discovering this, the man’s condition moved from bad to worse and he finally ended up taking his own life because of self enacted stigma. Labeling and stigma A great part in the growth of stigma has been attributed to the attachment of labels (Scheff, 1974). Therefore some views have been put across directing that in order for us to get rid of stigmatization; we have to get rid of all labels. This can only serve to eliminate the symptoms of stigma but the main roots remain firmly embedded. The society, without realizing it, tends to react to some people and some happenings in a way that clearly shows that they have totally segregated themselves from it. For instance, mentally retarded person who is seen with saliva all over their clothes is automatically conceptualized as a lesser than part of the society and hardly does anybody want to be associated with them. Therefore, the labeling is not the key part here but the general behavior of the society that forms the final view. There also those people who would claim that whether labeling is present or not, it does not matter, just as long as a person has been diagnosed with mental illness. They argue that these people with mental illness portray some physical signs such as poor hygiene, unpresentable appearances and abnormal facial movements that will undermine their social acceptability. Still more interesting, individual’s behavior change once they learn that someone has a mental disability. It is just human for one to feel less interested of the interaction with a person who is mentally retarded. In our day to day lives, stigma exists with us. Research has proven that there is a nonspecific label effect, implying that people labeled mentally ill, regardless of the specific psychiatric diagnosis, are stigmatized more severely than those with other health conditions. (Corrigan, 2000). Stigma occurs in various perspectives. First, it can be looked at from the perspective of social Cognition. Stigma, as a social-cognitive construct is just one of the many factors that that undermine obtaining of mental health care if in need. The way the social structure is can influence how a person feels about themselves. Those at the lower class of society tend to belittle themselves and even minimize their interaction with the well up. This may stress them up to a level that they almost get into depression. This way, the stigma hinders the development of a person as he/she believes that they are permanently meant to stick there. The other very negative effect of stigma can be on one’s self esteem. The stigma touches on one’s sense of self. Research has proven that people with mental illness often internalize stigmatizing ideas that are widely endorsed within the society and believe they are less valued because of their psychiatric disorder (Link, 1987). Stigma is also an issue of social justice. The public may view mental illness as a condition from which one can never recover. In fact, the impact caused by stigma about mental illness is far much greater than the illness itself fostering pity rather than parity. This places responsibility for the stigma illness on the person’s mental illness rather than on the public. Conclusion As it has clearly come out, it is the responsibilities of every individual to see to it that stigma against people with mental challenges do not persist. With the understanding that anyone, when exposed to high levels of stress, is capable of succumbing. Therefore, we should offer as much support to these people in as far as we have the ability. References Corrigan, P. (2000). Mental health Stigma as social attribution: implications for research methods and attitude change. Clinical Psychology-Science and Practce , 7, 48-67. Crocetti, G. &. (1974). Contemporary Attitudes towards Menta lillness. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University press. Goffman, E. S. (1963). Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Link, B. G. (1987). Understanding labeling effects in the area of mental disorders. an assessment of of the effects of expectations of rejection , 56, 96-112. Scambler, G. (1998). Stigma and disease. changing paradigms , 352:1054-5. Scheff, T. (1974). The labelling thoery of mental illness. Am Sociol , 444-52. Read More